Videos & Rules

Bitcoin Opportunity For Online Gambling Jurisdictions

Published Monday, April 27, 2015 -
Online-Casinos.com

The idea of paying for services with virtual money has been growing ever since the concept became main stream. The need to educate the public to develop trust in the virtual currency when playing at online casinos has been a focus for operators offering the alternative funding platform.

Recent news articles have been exposing the implications that the use of the virtual currency has brought to administrations in various jurisdictions. The Isle of Man for example is seeking once again to make the case that it can provide a safe haven for digital currency projects, and in the process, spur the kind of economic boom it saw arise from its early embrace of online gambling and electronic gaming.

Brian Donegan, the Isle of Man’s head of operations for digital development and e-business was quoted by CoinDesk recently saying the government of the Isle of Man is still moving ahead to put key measures in place that would help the region's fledgling digital currency industry thrive. Ernst & Young research said that online gambling accounted for 8% of the national income on the Isle of Man in 2010, providing nearly 700 jobs. The online gambling industry has grown since 2001 to $20bn in annual revenue. Donegan sees an opportunity in the bitcoin community and feels that support could achieve similar growth, given the combination of resources the jurisdiction offers.

On another front with Bitcoin there is Spain where the Bitcoin industry is hailing the confirmation that the crypto currency is exempt from Value Added Tax there as a great achievement. Both Bitcoin startups and legal experts in Spain are praising the administration's decision, which provides some clarity in an uncertain regulatory environment. The application of VAT to bitcoin services has proved somewhat of a grey area in the European Union. All Spanish companies operating with the digital currency will have to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules.